A Florida woman was charged on Monday in connection with the deaths of her two newborns, both of whom were found unresponsive in her home over the weekend, according to police.
Rachael Lynn Thomas, 30, was arrested on felony charges Monday afternoon, just a day after police found the infants unresponsive at her home in West Melbourne, Florida, located about 70 miles southeast of Orlando, police said. Police did not know the ages of the children, but said they believed both were newborns.
She faces two counts of child neglect and one count of tampering with evidence, both felonies, according to the West Melbourne Police Department. She being held in the Brevard County Jail in Cocoa, Florida, on a $30,000 bail, court records show.
Investigators have not released a cause of death for either child, but said “there are suspicious circumstances involved.” West Melbourne patrol officers found the children on Sunday around noon while responding to a call, the department said.
“It is something that is very serious. We will methodically investigate this to try to get the answers that the children here deserve,” Richard Cordeau, captain of the West Melbourne Police Department, told ABC affiliate WFTV.
Neighbors in West Melbourne said Thomas lived at the home with her mother and kept to herself, according to WFTV. They said they’ve only seen her with one infant and an older child.
The police department and Department of Children and Families, which is investigating the case, have not had any previous contact with Thomas.
The infants’ siblings are being cared for by relatives, WFTV reported.
